The Task: In Six Books |
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Page 39
Such evil Sin hath wrought ; and such a flame Kindled in Heav'n , that it burns
down to Earth , And in the furious inquest that it makes On God's behalf , lays
waste his fairest works . The very elements , though each be meant The minister
of ...
Such evil Sin hath wrought ; and such a flame Kindled in Heav'n , that it burns
down to Earth , And in the furious inquest that it makes On God's behalf , lays
waste his fairest works . The very elements , though each be meant The minister
of ...
Page 45
-Would to Heav'n all were ! But hark - the doctor's voice ! -fast wedg'd between
Two empiricks he stands , and with swoln cheeks Inspires the news , his trumpet .
Keener far Than all invective is his bold harangue , While through that publick ...
-Would to Heav'n all were ! But hark - the doctor's voice ! -fast wedg'd between
Two empiricks he stands , and with swoln cheeks Inspires the news , his trumpet .
Keener far Than all invective is his bold harangue , While through that publick ...
Page 51
My very gentle reader , yet unborn , of whom I needs must auger better things ,
Since Heav'n would sure grow weary of a world Productive only of a race like
ours , A monitor is wood - plank shaven thin . We wear it at our backs . There ,
closely ...
My very gentle reader , yet unborn , of whom I needs must auger better things ,
Since Heav'n would sure grow weary of a world Productive only of a race like
ours , A monitor is wood - plank shaven thin . We wear it at our backs . There ,
closely ...
Page 53
So potent is the spell , That done , decoy'd into that fatal ring , Unless by Heav'n's
peculiar grace , escape . There we grow early gray , but never wise ; There form
connexions , but acquire no friend ; Solicit pleasure hopeless of success ; Waste
...
So potent is the spell , That done , decoy'd into that fatal ring , Unless by Heav'n's
peculiar grace , escape . There we grow early gray , but never wise ; There form
connexions , but acquire no friend ; Solicit pleasure hopeless of success ; Waste
...
Page 54
Than all that held their routs in Juno's Heav'n . So fare we in this prison house ,
the World ; And ' tis a fearful spectacle to see So many maniacks dancing in their
chains . They gaze upon the links , that hold them fast , With eyes of anguish ...
Than all that held their routs in Juno's Heav'n . So fare we in this prison house ,
the World ; And ' tis a fearful spectacle to see So many maniacks dancing in their
chains . They gaze upon the links , that hold them fast , With eyes of anguish ...
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Common terms and phrases
beauty beneath BOOK bounds breath cause charms cities clear close course death deep delight distant divine dream e'en earth ease effect ev'ry fair fall fancy fear feeds feel field flow'r force fruit gives glory grace green half hand happy head heart Heav'n holds hope hour human king land least leaves length less light live lost manners means mind nature never o'er once peace perhaps pleasures pow'r praise proud publick rest rise rural sake scene seek seems seen shine side sleep slow smiles song soon soul sound stands stream sweet task taste thee theme thine things thou thought thousand true truth turn vain virtue walk wind winter wisdom worth worthy
Popular passages
Page 161 - One song employs all nations ; and all cry, " Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us ! " The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks Shout to each other, and the mountain tops From distant mountains catch the flying joy ; Till, nation after nation taught the strain, Earth rolls the rapturous Hosanna round.
Page 41 - Support and ornament of Virtue's cause. There stands the messenger of truth: there stands The legate of the skies! — His theme divine, His office sacred, his credentials clear. By him the violated law speaks out Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet As angels use, the gospel whispers peace.
Page 155 - I would not enter on my list of friends (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense, Yet wanting sensibility) the man Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
Page 43 - A messenger of grace to guilty men. Behold the picture ! — Is it like ? — Like whom ? The things that mount the rostrum with a skip, And then skip down again ; pronounce a text ; Cry — hem ! and reading what they never wrote, Just fifteen minutes, huddle up their work, And with a well-bred whisper close the scene...
Page 32 - I would not have a slave to till my ground, To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd.
Page 42 - Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds May feel it too ; affectionate in look, And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men.
Page 161 - The garden fears no blight, and needs no fence, For there is none to covet; all are full. The lion, and the libbard, and the bear, Graze with the fearless flocks; all bask at noon Together, or all gambol in the shade Of the same grove, and drink one common stream ; Antipathies are none.
Page 32 - Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free ; They touch our country, and their shackles fall. That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then, And let it circulate through every vein Of all your empire ; that, where Britain's power Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too.
Page 32 - We have no slaves at home — then why abroad ? And they themselves once ferried o'er the wave That parts us, are emancipate and loosed. Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free; They touch our country, and their shackles fall.
Page 31 - There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart, It does not feel for man ; the natural bond Of brotherhood is sever'd as the flax That falls asunder at the touch of fire.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Task: In Six Books |
| Author | William Cowper |
| Publisher | J. & B. Williams, 1836 |
| Original from | the New York Public Library |
| Digitized | 28 Nov 2006 |
| Length | 172 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |